Detroit Places:
Belle Isle

In the very early days of Detroit, Belle Isle, then known as Ile Aux Cochons or Hog Island, was used by settlers to house pigs and chickens to protect them from coyotes on the mainland. Ottawas and Ojibwa tribes were the "owners" of the island.

During Pontiac's siege of Detroit in 1763, the houses on Belle Isle were destroyed and the family of resident, James Fisher, was murdered. Jean Myer accused Alexis Cuillerier of drowning one of James Fisher's children. No court existed in Detroit at the time, and Cuillerier had some powerful connections and relationships, thus he was only kicked out of Detroit. After his exile, several witnesses testified in Cuillerier's behalf. Cuillerier was proven innocent and on June 4, 1769, Turnbull called him back to Detroit.

On May 4, 1768, Lieutenant George McDougall, a soldier in the British garrison at Detroit, was given permission by King George III to "occupy" Belle Isle. Despite the fact that the citizens of Detroit would lose their rights to the island and have to find other means of housing cattle and other animals, McDougall purchased the island on June 5, 1769 from the Ojibwa and Ottawa owners for a total of 8 barrels of rum, 3 rolls of tobacco, 6 pounds of vermillion, and a wampum belt.

Detroiters who were living on the island at the time, including Jacques Campau, J. Bte. Chapoton, Eustache Gamelin, and Pierre Reaume, wrote a letter to Captain Turnbull (commandant of Detroit) on May 18, 1769. The letter asked that Turnbull speak to General Thomas Gage and Governor Carleton and request the citizens' rights to use Belle Isle be recognized. Turnbull refused. The citizens then wrote to Gage and Carleton themselves -- again they were refused. A meeting was held on October 13, 1769 and the citizens were able to voice their opinions, but to no avail. In the spring of 1777, McDougall took full possession of the island.

In 1780, the McDougall holdings on Belle Isle were appraised by order of commandant Arent Schuyler de Peyster. Peyster aimed to use the island to increase agricultural production at the post. Mrs. Dougall was paid £334, the calculated value of her holdings. After that, the King's cattle and a Mr. Riddle moved to the island.

Articles

Glossary:Algonquin

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes (and others): Delaware, Fox, Huron, Miami, Ojibwa (Chippewa), Ottawa, Potawatomi, Sac, Shawnee and Winnebago.

Glossary:arquebus

A 39 pound (approximate) musket that two men would prop on a tri-pod and fire with a small torch. The arquebus was used by Champlain's men against the Iroquois to defend the Hurons. This may be the cause of decades of Iroquois abuse of the Hurons.

Glossary:clay and wattle

Building technique used in the construction of chimneys in the early days of Fort Ponchartrain. The technique involved piling sticks and packing them - inside and out - with clay and mud.

Glossary:Colbertism

Name for early French mercantilism in America, which Jean-Baptiste Colbert was influential in developing.

Glossary:conges

Trade permits issued by the Canadian government/court of France in the late 1600s to early 1700s.

Glossary:coureurs de bois

Very early French inhabitants of the current US and Canada who gave up their farmsteads for lives in the fur trade. They often lived with Native Americans.

Glossary:District of Hesse

Land district provisioned by the Canadian Council on July 24, 1788. The area was on the east side of the Detroit River.

Glossary:Fox

"Properly ""Mesh-kwa-ki-hug"". Native American tribe living in the area between Saginaw Bay and Thunder Bay at the time Detroit was founded. The French called the tribe Renyard. An allied tribe of the Sacs and Mascoutin."

Glossary:Huron

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.

Glossary:Iroquoian

General term sometimes used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, and Seneca.

Glossary:Iroquois

"A Native American tribe known for antagonizing and brutalizing the Hurons (see also arquebus)"

Glossary:Mascouten

Native American tribe living in the Grand Traverse Bay area at the time Detroit was founded. An allied tribe of the Foxes and Sacs. Also spelled Mascoutin.

Glossary:Miami

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.

Glossary:Muskhogean

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Creek.

Glossary:New York Currency

First standard currency used in Detroit (first used in 1765).

Glossary:Ottawa

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.

Glossary:Outagamies

Native American tribe living in the Grand Traverse Bay area at the time Detroit was founded. An allied tribe of the Foxes (and Sacs?).

Glossary:Plains Indians

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Apache, Arapaho, Cheyenne, Comanche, Kiowa, and Pawnee (Pani).

Glossary:Potawatomi

A Native American tribe that built a village near Fort Ponchartrain.

Glossary:Quebec Act

Act of June 22, 1774, in which British Parliament decides to exercise English law in criminal cases and old French provincial law in civil cases in western settlements. The idea was to discourage people from settling in the west.

Glossary:Renyard

See Fox

Glossary:ribbon farms

Original land grants given by Cadillac. The lots were typically around 200 feet wide at the river front, with lengths up to 3 miles.

Glossary:Sac

See Sauk

Glossary:Sakis

See Sauk

Glossary:Sauk

Native American tribe living in the area between Saginaw Bay and Thunder Bay at the time Detroit was founded. The French called the tribe Sakis; English and Americans generally call them Sacs. An allied tribe of the Foxes/Renyards and Mascouten.

Glossary:Shoshonean

General term used to describe Native Americans of the following tribes: Bannock and Shoshone.

Glossary:Treaty of Montreal

Treaty ending the war between the Iroquois and France and England. Negotiations began in July of 1698 and the treaty was signed in August of 1701.